Arsonist Lead Flares, Then Fizzles Fire Fits The Pattern But Suspect Doesn't

August 6, 1987|By Craig Dezern and Bob Levenson of The Sentinel Staff

A ''promising lead'' turned to ashes Wednesday night for Orlando fire officials, who are baffled by 47 fires they think might have been set by a serial arsonist in the past two years.

About 8:30 p.m., an Orlando police officer saw a man striking a match and setting fire to a small pile of newspapers beside a vacant downtown building near the duPont Centre.

Within minutes, arson investigators were on the scene, and Stacey Alexander Carruth, 33, was sitting in a patrol car, later to be booked into the Orange County jail on charges of second-degree arson.

The location of the fire and its seemingly senseless nature fit the pattern that fire officials were looking for, said District Chief Tony Coshignano.

''This is really the most promising lead we've had for two years,'' he said, minutes after looking over the small pile of burned papers and the scorch marks on the stucco wall of the building at 453 N. Orange Ave.

But after he and other investigators questioned Carruth late Wednesday, Coshignano said, ''This guy is not our arsonist. He claims he was just trying to dry his clothes.''

Throughout the interview, the transient ''stuck to his story and was calm,'' Coshignano said.

The fire couldn't have done much damage even if it were allowed to burn, Coshignano said. It was set in an alley, in full view from the street.

This false alarm followed by less than 24 hours a blaze set at an abandoned downtown duplex that firefighters and police have used in training sessions. Officials said that fire, at 11 p.m. Tuesday, had many similarities to the other unsolved arsons downtown and in College Park.

''I don't want to start saying that every fire we get is the work of one guy, but the same basic characteristics are there,'' Coshignano said earlier Wednesday. ''I can't say for sure whether they're related, but I'd have to say there's a good chance.''

Firefighters and police had used the one-story concrete duplex for training in the past two weeks and it's possible the arsonist knew that, Coshignano said.

The Tuesday fire caused extensive damage and appeared to be set using papers, books and other debris, some of it probably left behind by police and firefighters training there, Coshignano said. Apparently no flammable liquids were used.

''I just feel with some of that heavy kind of material, it would have taken a deliberate effort to get it going,'' Coshignano said.

The fire followed the pattern of the other unsolved arsons in that materials at the scene were used to start it, it was set at night in an obscure part of the building, and occurred in the same general area. The structures set afire during the past two years have included occupied houses, empty offices and vacant buildings.

The arsonist is believed to have set four fires Sunday night several blocks northeast of the duplex.